2. Education and Job Training for Artists and Arts Administrators

2. Education and Job Training for Artists and Arts Administrators

What ideas do you have for the arts field (arts organizations, arts service organizations, arts agencies, and arts funders) and the arts education field (schools, community arts education, conservatories, and universities) to ensure full inclusion for youth and adults seeking training in the arts field?

When you are ready to share your ideas click the Submit New Idea Button on the right to join the conversation!

I'm a student with a disability currently attending an arts college. While art has great potential as a career for those with disabilities, the present educational and gallery system makes it very hard for outliers like the disabled to succeed.
Different schools may obviously vary tremendously in terms of work ethic and general culture, but in many art and design colleges a culture of overwork and subjective grading
...more »

Voting

Replicate a fellowship program for arts leaders with disabilities.
There is a great program at the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance (the Urban Arts Leadership Program) that focuses on empowering the leadership of young people of color in the arts. "The Program offers professional development, networking opportunities, and paid Fellowship placements to aspiring arts administrators. ***Equally important***, UALP offers
...more »

Voting

At the college level, I'd like to see smaller class sizes. Colleges are impacted and sometimes the course is too fast or too many people talking. Many young adults with disabilities have difficulty being assertive. I need to find more classes addressing work-related social skills. You know, engaging in "water cooler talk" instead of just talking about what interests them.

Voting

My name is Kitty Lunn, Artistic Director of Infinity Dance Theater in New York City. I am a disabled dancer using a wheelchair. I have a hard time finding qualified dancers for my Company, because disabled people aren't given the same training opportunities as their non-disabled peers. I won't put someone on stage simply because they have a disability.
It would be very helpful if State Vocational Rehab specialist
...more »

Voting

After beginning an Adaptive Dance program in 2008, I have seen the positive effects dance can have not only for the dancers, but also on the general community. The Toledo Ballet Adaptive Dance Troupe performs at schools, churches, community centers and our Showcase. This exposure raises awareness of these students abilities as opposed to disabilities. We often integrate with typical students- allowing both parties to
...more »

Voting

I am a theatre artist living and working in Louisville, KY. Many people in the arts community here desire more diversity and inclusion. How can those in the disability community who are willing to help offer practical, logistical recommendations for small, non-profit arts organizations? How can we all, as a national arts community, pool our resources to help each other with things that have worked? From audition notices
...more »

Voting

This is probably a very simple item but one that isn't done often enough. Include Disability. For arts organizations, arts service organizations, arts agencies, and arts funders, when doing outreach, creating programs, projects, or funding the same please:
1. SPECIFICALLY include disability in the list of "diversities" welcome to apply (beyond women, minorities etc). Use the word.
2. Do outreach to places and groups
...more »

Voting

Working artists with disabilities have developed varying marketing skills, methods of making art, and business management expertise. Creating and faciliating a series of webinars on 'Making, Marketing and Managing' will tap this energy and expertise for peer mentoring and exchanges. Being live sessions with audio and video with closed captions generates a sense of community and connection. A 'menu' of topics could
...more »

Voting

Movement classes in the preforming arts need integration for people with disabilities, i.e. dancing in a wheelchair, technical theater, directing, acting, singing, etc. This requires accreditation of specific classes (in academia) and a change in administrative mindsets, i.e. yes, students with disabilities CAN preform and do so along with their non-disabled classmates. There are hundreds of examples of preforming groups
...more »

Voting

My greatest fear at this moment is transferring to a four year university as a dance major. I have search and searched for guidance of how to go about preparing for auditions. It's terrifying because realistically, it's a very slim chance that I get accepted into a dance program that will provide me with advance training in dance. Of course I can apply to universities that don't hold auditions but that's very limiting
...more »

In addition, please share your ideas and comments for the following: resources that assist people with disabilities in overcoming barriers and challenges and provide career preparation and opportunities in the arts field, effective tools or resources for networking and job searching, and resources for educators to supplement their existing curricula in arts education programs to include disability arts representation and narratives.

Within your particular artistic discipline, please share your ideas for what resources or programs assist in addressing discipline-specific barriers or challenges, and what progress has been made in regards to artists, and/or cultural workers with disabilities. Are there resources in your specific artistic community that address the current discourse around disability? What organizations, opportunities, venues/spaces, and individuals working on disability issues within your specific artistic field should we know about? Please share resources that offer strategies for arts organizations and disability organizations to more effectively work together to improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities in the arts.

Please share your ideas for resources or strategies for the following:

Guidance in considering and addressing disability/identity disclosure while working in the arts.

Assistance for employers, employees, and arts venue staff in a workspace/art space with access and inclusion.

Support or mentorship for disabled artists and cultural workers from additionally marginalized communities including communities of color, those for whom English is a second language, and those who are LGBTQ trans*.

Dialogue 1

What are some of the strategies used by people with disabilities seeking employment or self-employment in the arts? What are the barriers and challenges, and what ideas do you have for how the arts field can help provide career preparation and opportunity? These ideas can include your experiences with accommodations and accessibility, as well as how people with disabilities can work in the arts and have access to healthcare and other benefits.

When you are ready to share your ideas click the Submit New Idea Button on the right to join the conversation!

What ideas do you have for the arts field (arts organizations, arts service organizations, arts agencies, and arts funders) and the arts education field (schools, community arts education, conservatories, and universities) to ensure full inclusion for youth and adults seeking training in the arts field?

When you are ready to share your ideas click the Submit New Idea Button on the right to join the conversation!

What ideas do you have concerning disability disclosure while working in the arts? Has it helped or hindered your work? How can representation of disability and authenticity affect the employment outcomes for people with disabilities in the arts?

When you are ready to share your ideas click the Submit New Idea Button on the right to join the conversation!

What ideas do you have within your particular art form or your particular disability community? For example, what new opportunities have emerged for Deaf theater artists, for physically-integrated dance, or for filmmakers with disabilities, and how did they come about? What ideas do you have for how arts and disability organizations can work better together to increase opportunities?

When you are ready to share your ideas click the Submit New Idea Button on the right to join the conversation!